In classical music, the Romantic Era lasted from around 1810 to around 1910. That century gave us some of the most famous symphonies in the repertoire. Nineteenth-century composers like Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Dvořák, Schubert, Mahler, Rachmaninoff, and others elevated the symphony
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Alexandre Tharaud October 14th, 2010 An outstanding soloist as well as a fine chamber musician, Alexandre Tharaud has dedicated much of his time to French music. Born in Paris on 9 December 1968, Alexandre began his piano lessons at age five at the initiative of -
Falling in Love with Opera October 12th, 2010 Although I have become a frequent concert-goer since I was allowed to go out at night at age 12, opera had never been on my list, with the impression that the word “opera” itself equals boredom, or even hypnotism. Therefore -
Guillaume Lekeu September 30th, 2010 Works for String Quartet : Meditation (1887) Poemes : No.3 Nocturne: version for soprano and piano quintet (1892) Cello Sonata Guillaume Lekeu (January 20, 1870 – January 21, 1894) was a Belgian (Wallon) composer. Born in Verviers, Lekeu took his -
Did Johann Sebastian Bach die from eye surgery complications? September 21st, 2010 ‘Father of Music’ Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) suffered visual problems from a young age. In his portrait, Bach appears to squint, and the way his facial muscles are aligned has led analysts to believe that he suffered from shortsightedness. His -
Sergej Krylov September 13th, 2010 Born in Moscow into a family of musicians, Sergej Krylov started studying the violin at the age of five and made his debut with orchestra at ten, performing in Russia, China, Finland and Germany. At a very young age he -
Johann Nepomuk Hummel August 31st, 2010 Johann Nepomuk Hummel (November 14, 1778 – October 17, 1837) was an Austrian composer and virtuoso pianist. His music reflects the transition from the Classical to the Romantic musical era. Hummel was born in Pressburg, Hungary (now Bratislava, Slovakia), the -
Igor Levit August 14th, 2010 “The young Igor Levit, who shows not only great technical accomplishment but also a remarkable artistic maturity, shaped [Prokofiev’s] concerto forcefully…A brilliant performance.” – Neue Zürcher Zeitung, April 2009 At only 23, Igor Levit has already made his debuts with -
My Favourite Chopin August 13th, 2010 We have been celebrating Chopin’s bicentenary for the whole of this year. Numerous articles have been written, prominent pianists have been performing his music all over the world, major festivals have featured special Chopin days, not to mention all the